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@yetidamo
OK, gear ratio aficionados, I recently inherited a 44/18 gear ratio on a second hand bike I bought. It's pretty lumpy where I ride, but even so, it feels massively under geared. It must be improving my pedalling technique, but...
So, it needs changing. I have a proper track chainset with a 49T track ring that I could use, so do I go 49/18 (I'd still need to buy a new sprocket and if I can't splice 2 track chains together I'm likely to need a new chain too) or do i go 45/16 (I'd need a new chainring and sprocket, but could definitely use the existing chain). The benefit of 45/16 is that I can then also attach a 16T freewheel that I have in the spares drawer to the fixed/free hub just in case I fancy some singlespeed action in the future.
In summary the question is 49/18 or 45/16 given that the cost of either option is likely to be similar. Any mechanical advantage/disadvantage for either ratio? I don't do wicked skidz. I don't much care for the aesthetics of the 49T ring if that makes a difference. For what it's worth I used to ride 53/16 when doing "big gear rides" when training for TTs, but I did have to avoid the steepest hills completely on that bike. Reckon either of the 2 gear options will be ideal for my all round riding I'm planning. Thanks!